Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. We are dealing with Second Stage but all Stages of the Bill are being pushed through the House. While I am supportive of the Bill, this is not the way to do business. I accept these are unprecedented times and this is an emergency but I want the message to go back that it is not the way we should process legislation. I will support it but I wanted to make that important point.

We have 19 amendments, none of them mine. They will be debated and I thank the Senators who tabled them. That is parliamentary democracy. It is important we have an opportunity to engage for those who wish to do so. I understand the pressures and that the Dáil and Seanad are scheduled to go into recess for a week today. We are all cognisant of that.

We all know there is pressure on homeless services, limited supply in the rental market and heightened anxiety and worry regarding tenants and tenancies. While this is a temporary measure, it seeks to protect renters facing homelessness by deferring any no-fault tenancy terminations from taking place this winter. It is not a long time. This legislation provides for temporary conditions of stay on tenancy terminations this winter. The Minister of State set all that out and I will not rehash it. The Bill will defer no-fault tenancy terminations due to occur during the coming winter months, taking effect until or after 31 March 2023.

The Oireachtas committee on housing, of which I and my colleagues to my right, Senators Cummins and Fitzpatrick, are members, agreed to waive pre-legislative scrutiny. That is an important point. My colleague on the left from the Labour Party, Senator Moynihan, is also on that committee. It is important to note the committee made a strong recommendation that where a notice to quit is issued the relevant local authority be informed, as well as the RTB. The rationale for that is to ensure local authorities are informed in tandem with the RTB and that would keep councils informed of potential homelessness and homeless risks. It is an important synergy that the local authority is kept up to speed. It is involved and the housing authority as well. That is an important recommendation.

The legislation will cover the licensing of tenancies in student-specific accommodation, which is an important point, and student tenancies in the general rental market. That is a critical aspect of the Bill and one I welcome.

While the emergency measures in the Bill are necessary and will provide short-term assistance, it may need to be reviewed. We have to bear that in mind in our debate on the issue. We may learn in this process and things may come to light. It is important that Government has an open policy as to the potential of extending the provision at some point. The long-term answer, as the Minister of State and I know and everyone in this Chamber knows, is a rapid increase in the supply of new housing in all shapes and forms. This is where the collective political focus on the delivery of housing construction and targets must remain. That is where our focus across these Houses must remain in a collaborative way to get more houses through all sources of supply. That is important.

I support the Bill and look forward to the debate on the amendments before the House.